CSR in Action

River Spring Cleaning and Fish Stocking: Cleaning of the bed and banks of the Zlatna Panega River; utilization of waste material as alternative fuel in the cement kilns; stocking the river with ten thousand baby fish of the Balkan trout (Salmo trutta fario), an endangered species. The stocking was carried out by volunteers of The Old Otters fishing club. The initiative will be repeated in 2017.

Biomonitoring of the River: Analyzing best practices in the field of biomonitoring in Iceland, EU and Bulgaria; development and adaptation of an educational program for environmental protection and monitoring methodology; purchasing of special equipment; monitoring of the river water and biodiversity by students from 4th to 12th grade through measuring the pH, dissolved oxygen content and speed of water. This initiative was carried out over a period of 11 months.

The “Change Starts with Us” Project: Selecting youths with leadership skills; forming of action groups; discussing, selecting and planning a project idea positively affecting the local community; various training sessions led by youth development experts; execution of the following project ideas: building an outdoor fitness area in the village of Oreshene, renovating the playground in the village of Zlatna Panega, cleaning, cultivating and fencing in the park in the village of Brestnitsa.

The many obvious benefits of these initiatives included: increasing awareness and concern for environmental issues in the region; protecting biodiversity; laying a solid foundation for the future development of a network of volunteer groups for monitoring the condition of the river; enhancing the tourist potential of the region; identifying motivated young people in the community as an initial step towards the establishing of micro-businesses; inspiring confidence in local youths that they can be the force of change.